Zeno Clash

[StevenYoo]

Looks interesting!

Zeno Clash

$15 on pre-order through Steam

According to Steam:

Zeno Clash is an action/fighting game set in a punk fantasy world. The game is played from a first person perspective and the combat is generally up close and brutal.

Experience a deep storyline set in a fantastic world. Play the role of Ghat, a man banished by his own brothers and forced to begin a desperate journey past the forbidden desert and to the end of the world.

Nominated in 'Excellence in Visual Art' at the Independent Games Festival, the original visuals, which make full use of the Source engine features, breathe new air in the fantasy game genre. The new close combat mechanics are also a deviation from traditional action in the first-person genre that will feel fresh for new and veteran players.

Engaging melee combat in first person
The new melee combat system allows players to perform a variety of movements like deflect & elude combos, knockback finisher punches and punishing grab attacks. Learn new attacks as the game progresses and confronts you with more formidable foes.
Fantastic visuals powered by the Source engine
Players will be immersed in a fantastic world, beautiful and disturbing at the same time. The unprecedented art style brings a fresh new approach to the first person genre. The surreal environments and characters will keep players wanting to discover more.
Survival mode challenges
Jump right into the action in engaging unlockable "tower challenges". The player must overcome enemy waves to progress through the tower levels. The game will rate the player in different categories like speed and performance. A leaderboards system will rank you against your friends, so the challenge never ends.
Deep storyline
Players will play the role of Ghat; the son of a impressive hermaphrodite creature called Father-Mother, whose children form the most powerful clan in the city of Halstedom. Ghat must escape from his family and start an incredible journey with his female companion Deadra, who will aid him in the dangerous lands of Zenozoik.
Bizarre weapons
The game features an unusual arsenal of eccentric weapons that are built from scraps and junk. Hammers and clubs will be the most effective when fighting heavy characters that can only be brought down with extreme force.

 

[Ayrahvon]

Might have to give it a go, I love how many indie games are on steam now and this ones game-play looks intriguing. The voice acting sounds terrible but I'll let that slide on account that it probably had next to no budget.

EDIT: Somewhat off topic but... has anyone tried Caster? That's also on sale on Steam for $4.49 and looked like it might have some potential for fun but I haven't been able to find too much on it.

 

[Sam25]

The weapons are pretty cool! Will definitely look into this.

 

[coloumb]

Originally posted by: Ayrahvon
Might have to give it a go, I love how many indie games are on steam now and this ones game-play looks intriguing. The voice acting sounds terrible but I'll let that slide on account that it probably had next to no budget.

EDIT: Somewhat off topic but... has anyone tried Caster? That's also on sale on Steam for $4.49 and looked like it might have some potential for fun but I haven't been able to find too much on it.

Google is your friend:

Caster Information

 

[NoWhereM]

I watched the low quality video on Steam and purchased it when it was 50% off for one day, $9.99. The next day it was only 25% off, $14.99.

I did see someone in the hot deals thread say it is a very short game, I hope it isn't to short.

 

[pontifex]

anyone play it? i was looking at it today again and thought about getting it but wasn't sure. looks interesting but i hate that there is no demo.

 

[KeypoX]

some reviews here http://www.gamespot.com/pc/act...tml?tag=result;title;0

 

[skulkingghost]

I played it, story is wacky, but graphics are awesome, and the hand to hand combat is AMAZING. The guns suck though, feel like pea shooters.

 

[shortylickens]

Indie games rule.

They are going to keep the games industry afloat when companies like EA collapse under their own weight.

 

[Sam25]

Metacritic gave this an 83/100, goody! Haven't given this a shot yet, but plan to after finishing with CoD4 and CoD 5.

 

[Cellulose]

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
I played it, story is wacky, but graphics are awesome, and the hand to hand combat is AMAZING. The guns suck though, feel like pea shooters.

Cool. Is the combat varied enough though? I loved the hand-to-hand fighting of Condemned 2 but it got a bit repetitive after a while.

 

[skulkingghost]

Originally posted by: Cellulose

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
I played it, story is wacky, but graphics are awesome, and the hand to hand combat is AMAZING. The guns suck though, feel like pea shooters.

Cool. Is the combat varied enough though? I loved the hand-to-hand fighting of Condemned 2 but it got a bit repetitive after a while.

Combat is pretty varied, you fight about 9 normal enemies, each with different attack styles, then move on to a boss fight, which tend to be pretty darn cool. I am about 3/4 of the way through it, and though I dont like the shooting sequences, the hand to hand combat is what gets me to keep coming back. There is also a survival mode which is awesome if you just want to do the fighting.

The story still makes close to no sense, but the environments I have seen are incredible, I feel like the game is a cross between mirrormask (the movie) and condemned.

 

[pontifex]

i bought it just before i left for work so it should be ready when i get home. also got that Smashing Toys or whatever it was called (racing game).

 

[pontifex]

played up to the Gabel, the big fat guy. That fight is insane! it says you have to use a "sword" to beat him but my "sword" broke and all i have is the hilt. This guy deals so much damage and I can barely hurt him. I usually can't even get any swings in to even hit him. I can't figure that part out.

game is pretty odd and interesting though. the weapons so far do feel really week.

 

[Zenoth]

Melee combat in first-person-shooters isn't exactly the best thing there is, so far the best I've played is in Dark Messiah, and that wasn't particularly mind-blowing either (I mean the melee combat system, not the rest of the game, because I liked that game a lot). Maybe I should give Zeno Clash a try, but the context seems... weird, not to mention the characters, some of the designs remind me of some of the costumes that a number of characters had in the NeverEnding Story movies.

 

[PuppettMaster001]

Good game, just frustrating when guys keep coming out of nowhere and surround you. I think I am towards then end of the game, but wanted to toss my keyboard during some of these fights...... still a good game though.

 

[raystorm]

Originally posted by: PuppettMaster001
Good game, just frustrating when guys keep coming out of nowhere and surround you. I think I am towards then end of the game, but wanted to toss my keyboard during some of these fights...... still a good game though.

Some parts in the end got on my nerves because of the projectile weapons. I personally think it was a mistake to put projectile weapons in the game. Should have been melee weapons only. The projectile weapons makes some fights more frustrating then it should be. I wish you could use the environment in some way during fights too (ie: crash through tables and stuff).


Sometimes the hit detection is a bit wonky especially when you lock on to guys when fighting 3+ enemies. The story is silly and the voices are HORRIBLE (use subtitles especially when that Dr. Claw sounding fellow joins you later on). I dig the visuals and the crazy art style. The chilean indie dev who did the game is monitoring gamer reactions at the steam forums and they said they plan on releasing future fixes, free dlc...etc. Nice first effort by Ace.

 

[quadomatic]

Just bought it, dl'ing now

Hopefully it's as cool as I think it will be. Indie games rock.

On that note, time for some World of Goo.

 

[mindcycle]

Here's an interesting tactic that the developers of Zeno Clash are using to deal with piracy.

Just when you thought public relations with software pirates couldn?t get any weirder, Ace Team, the developers behind Zeno Clash, have started posting comments on a popular torrent tracker.

I?m one of the developers of Zeno Clash. I would appreciate you read this if you are about to download this file.

Zeno Clash is an independently funded game by a very small and sacrificed group of people. The only way in which we can continue making games like this (or a sequel) is to have good sales.

I am aware that at this moment there is still no demo of the game, but we are working on one which will be available soon.

We cannot do anything to stop piracy of the game (and honestly don?t intend to do so) but if you are downloading because you wish to try before you buy, I would ask that you purchase the game (and support the independent game development scene) if you enjoy it. We plan on updating Zeno Clash with DLC and continuing support for the game long after it?s release.

Thanks for taking the time to read this? hopefully it will make a difference.

Carlos Bordeu
ACE Team

Source: http://gamerlimit.com/2009/04/...-on-a-popular-tracker/

I bought the game off Steam a couple days ago but haven't gotten a chance to play it yet, so i'm not sure it it's any good of not, but I do agree that indie developers need all the support they can get. I think this tactic is interesting. They're basically saying they won't be doing anything about piracy because it's a losing fight, but they try to appeal to people's good nature and hopefully gain a few extra sales from the pirates who like the game. IMO, it's a much better approach then attaching draconian DRM and then wondering why your sales are low, or blaming pirates for low sales, etc..

 

[spacemanspliff1]

It is pretty fun. Unique and I like the overall visuals. Worth $15 but I can't say if i will play it more than one time through. Feels like I am just playing to see new characters.

 

[MBrown]

Its on sale for 10bucks on steam so I bought it. This is the most wacky and random game I have played. I don't understand it. The combat is nice but its hard to get over the randomness.

 

[Praxis1452]

Damn at 10 bucks I'd have to give it a go.

I really like how the company approached piracy too.

I love punk so we'll see how this goes hehe.

 

[Praxis1452]

I dl'd the demo, and trying to beatthe boss, with my club is ridiculous. He blocks most of my attacks. I can only use my strong/slow attack on him. Trying to block often makes me throw my weapon. I'm guessing I have to dodge his blows or something. Anyone else playing the demo?

 

[darkewaffle]

I picked this up for like $3 the other night on steam, played for and hour and a half last night and I'm really digging it. The environment alone really sets it apart, it's almost like "From Dust" meets "Odd World" set in kind of an African savannah/Mad Max setting. The voice acting pleasantly surprised me, definitely not the best but it's lightyears ahead of, say, Just Cause 2.

Combat is surprisingly deep but inevitably a little clunky (there's a lot of button combos to remember), melee combat is more akin to a MMA match than a 2d beatemup; dodging, countering, deflecting, blocking, combos, dashing, footwork all come into play. I haven't used many of the guns very extensively yet, they seem useful but not overpowered, plus you still retain a basic melee attack while wielding them.

The overall look and feel of the game is really cool, it doesn't really constrain itself to "lore" it seems, which in a way is liberating. Character design is absolutely off the wall in a great way, the guns and weapons have a distinctive primitive look to them (though some also appear kind of non-lethal lol), and the world is definitely very 'wild'.

Areas are kind of linear and the story is strange, sometimes it's difficult to understand what characters are saying, but I do find myself really compelled to find out what all is happening. In a way, it seems like the game starts at the climax as your character has slain "Father Mother" and is trying to escape the town. The game progresses as you reveal the story through a series of recollections and exploring the wilderness, it's almost put together a little bit like Catch 22 it seems.

Easily worth a try imo.

 

[darkewaffle]

Finished it last night, took about 3-4 hours altogether. Some of the later fights actually get kind of difficult when you're attempting to take on multiple enemies simultaneously.

The story ended just as bizarrely as it began, but it's got me looking forward to the sequel in hopes that it explains some more of everything.

I really love the presentation and style of the game. Enemies, environments and weapons all have this kind of primeval quality to them, as though this crazy story could have somehow unfolded hundreds of years ago in Mesopotamia.

Overall, really enjoyed it.